Informations:

Synopis, Cast etc.

Leatherface is an upcoming American horror film directed by French filmmaking duo Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, written by Seth M. Sherwood, and starring Stephen Dorff, Vanessa Grasse, Sam Strike, and Lili Taylor.[2] It is the eighth film in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, and works as a prequel to 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, explaining the origin of the series’ lead character.[3][4][5]

Following the financial success of Texas Chainsaw 3D, Lionsgate commissioned the production of another Chainsaw film. Seth M. Sherwood proposed the film to the studio as an origin story focusing on how the titular Leatherface became a mentally handicapped killer, in favour of avoiding the convoluted continuity of the previous films. Leatherface will follow the canon established by The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Texas Chainsaw 3D, chronologically taking place before said films.

Principal photography took place in Bulgaria, beginning on May 2015 and continuing through June, before eventually wrapping. Leatherface will be debut exclusively through DirecTV on September 21, 2017, receiving a limited theatrical release on October 20, 2017.

Plot

Leatherface is a prequel to 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre that revolves around the mystery of which teenage psychopath introduced will ultimately become the chainsaw wielding killer known as Leatherface,[6] as they escape with a nurse from a mental institution with a revenge-stricken lawman in pursuit.[7]

Cast

Stephen Dorff as Texas Ranger Hal Hartman[8][9]

Lili Taylor as Verna Sawyer[10]

Sam Strike as Jackson[11]

Vanessa Grasse as Nurse Lizzy[12]

James Bloor as Ike[12][13]

Jessica Madsen as Clarice[14]

Sam Coleman as Bud[12]

Finn Jones[15]

Julian Kostov as Ted Hardesty[16]

Dejan Angelov as Nubbins Sawyer[16][17]

Production

Concept and development

“In a way, there is nothing behind the mask. That, I think, is why he is such a frightening character. The reason he wore a mask, according to Tobe and Kim, was that the mask really determined his personality. So, when the Cook comes home with Sally, Leatherface is wearing the “Old Lady” mask and his wearing an apron; he wants to be domestic. At dinner he wears a different face — the “Pretty Woman,” which has make up. Behind the mask, really, Leatherface was very simple — he killed anything that came along, he obeyed his brothers, he loved his Grandpa.”[18]

—Actor Gunnar Hansen on Leatherface’s characterisation

In January 2013, it was revealed that due to the success of Texas Chainsaw 3D, Millennium Films began planning a prequel film to be called Texas Chainsaw 4which was expected to begin filming later in 2013 in the state of Louisiana.[19][20][21] Even though there have been over a half dozen films in the franchise, including a remake and prequel to the remake, calling the film Texas Chainsaw 4 was an indicator that it was a follow-up to the third film in the original continuity, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III.[19] Millennium Films Chairman Avi Lerner shared that the project was brought to him by Christa Campbell and Lati Grobman. Millennium signed on to produce and Lionsgate agreed to distribute the finished product.[21][22][21] The idea for the prequel came when Seth M. Sherwood was given the chance to pitch the film to the studio. Dissatisfied with the inconsistencies of the franchise’s continuity, he opted to make a Chainsaw film that wasn’t just another sequel to the original: “My pitch was always about doing it completely out of left field and making it different. The first thing I said to Millennium was ‘I bet I can tell you what everybody else is pitching you and it’s X-Y-Z, but I want to do 1-2-3’, and luckily, that’s the direction they were interested in going as well.”[23] The script was approached as a story of identity, based on the statements given by Tobe Hooper and Gunnar Hansen on how the character Leatherface is entirely devoid of personality beyond the masks he wears and what his family commands him to do.[24] Sherwood chose not to have Leatherface be born as intellectually disabled, finding the story of a functional person that has their mental capabilities reduced to be more fascinating.[25]

Pre-production

On August 13, 2014, Seth M. Sherwood was announced to write the film,[3][26] retitled Leatherface.[5] On October 31, 2014, Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo were hired to direct the film,[27] who admired its distinction in narrative with the series’ previous installments.[28] On March 9, 2015, Sam Strike joined the cast to play Jackson.[11] On March 11, 2015, James Bloor joined the cast.[13] On March 31, 2015, Stephen Dorff joined the cast to play Hal Hartman.[8] On April 27, 2015, Jessica Madsen joined the cast.[14] On May 5, 2015, Lili Taylor joined the cast, replacing Angela Bettis who had dropped out due to a scheduling conflict.[10] On May 6, 2015, Vanessa Grasse joined the cast to play Lizzy, a young nurse at a mental hospital.[12]

Filming

Principal photography began on May 18, 2015,[29] shooting on locations in Bulgaria.[30][31] The Bulgaria location was used for budgetary reasons, as Millennium Films has a studio in the area. To accommodate the 1960s era in which the film is set, cars modeled after that of the period were sent to the filming areas. Sites were also chosen for an aesthetic of wild, open fields and scrubs that resemble the Texas landscape. Seth M. Sherwood likened the film’s visual style to that of an art film, comparing it to “Badlands with gore”. In addition to the brutal murders in the screenplay, additional kills were inserted by directors Bustillo and Maury during filming, with the creation of Leatherface’s first flesh-mask cited by Sherwood as his personal favourite. Practical effects were primarily used to bring the killings, corpses, and gore to life; much of the budget was spent on building a realistic cow carcass. The crew utilised computer-generated imagery as necessary, albeit to a much lesser extent.[32]Leatherface was made intentionally graphic in response to fan criticisms of Texas Chainsaw 3D lacking sufficient violence.[33] Lati Globman said on the matter, “Gore is not always the point in horror movies, although there will be plenty, it needs to be psychologically challenging and twisted.”[34] While five of the Texas Chainsaw franchise’s seven films have been shot in Texas and one in California and one in Louisiana, Bulgarian filming marks the first time a film in the franchise has been shot outside the United States. Filming continued through June 2015.[35] Sherwood wrote some of the film’s locations into the script as homage to Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. As Sherwood explains, “The original Leatherface, Chainsaw 3, took the idea of the backwoods isolation of the original and exploded it tenfold. I always think of the locations of this film—the scrub brush filled badlands and remote roadside outposts as feeling like another world—a dark fairy tale land in some way. I filled my story with similar locations to hopefully capture a similar vibe.” The fictional Sawyer farm is a key location in Leatherface,[17] which was rebuilt to accurately resemble its appearance in the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre.[34]